Artist Blog 09/28

Shipwrecks, Voyages and Nautical Daydreams, Digital Photograph, Eleanor Hardwick, 2008

14/41 A secret Place, Digital Photograph, Eleanor Hardwick, 2008

38/41 A Secret Place, Digital Photograph, Eleanor Hardwick, 2008

Eleanor Hardwick is a very young, but published and recognized photographer from England. She has been interviewed and has had her work featured in a number of magazines including Look Magazine, Elle Girl Korea, dazeddigital.com/Dazed Digital Magazine and many others. She has had several solo and group exhibitions in Oxford including an exhibition at the Jam Factory in Oxford, UK for the Oxford Fashion Week Exhibition.

Eleanor refers to her photographs as “dreamscapes,” fittingly, as her images are constructed narratives using props, locations and models upon availability. This is exactly what is so refreshing about Eleanor’s work-she runs with what she has and when nothing is available, she photographs herself, carting her camera with her, pulling inspiration from her surroundings near her home in Oxford, England. She prefers to use natural light “and soft peachy tones to create something serene, with a hint of the sixties.”

In her series entitled Home, she sets up a sort of tent made out of mosquito netting in different landscapes. She photographs herself inside these spaces doing things one would do in their own home; sleeping, reading, listening to music, etc. The photographs are taken straight on, with Eleanor usually facing to one side. There isn’t a whole lot of information written about her work, but I think it’s pretty obvious in this series that she uses these props to suggest that these are spaces are another home; spaces she’s grown up knowing. However, I’m not sure that she totally understands why she uses some of the props that she does. The images in this series, for instance, feel like she felt the need to construct a separate space to really drive the idea of her existing in a “home,” as though the props she has with her within the tent aren’t enough to suggest a “home away from home.” Whatever the reason, I appreciate the narrative thought she puts into her work. As I stated in my last blog, I am having an issue determining what path I should take conceptually. If I do decide to shoot a more fairytale concept for this class, looking through Eleanor’s photos inspires me to use what I have and come up with my own, original, and personal narrative.

Blog Interview

Artist Website